Casino Pier, the oceanfront New Jersey amusement park whose boardwalk and pier was famously dismantled by Hurricane Sandy last October – remember those striking photos of a rollercoaster stranded at sea? – has hired JRA (Jack Rouse Associates) to provide masterplanning and associated services for phase I of a two-phase rebuilding effort.
Casino Pier is also using this opportunity to update its ride mix with new family attractions and to refresh its food, beverage and retail offer. The first phase, comprising the boardwalk and pier’s lower deck, is scheduled to open for the coming Memorial Day weekend at the end of May, with the phase II upper deck due for completion a year later.
JRA enjoys a long relationship with the various New Jersey amusement facilities, having completed previous projects at Keansburg Amusement Park, Morey’s Piers in Wildwood and Jenkinson’s in Point Pleasant.
“We’ve always enjoyed working on projects along the Jersey Shore,” says the Cincinatti firm’s senior project designer, Jeff Lichtenberg. “The property owners are passionate people that care a great deal about the entertainment business they have devoted their lives to. Generations have lived, worked in and built these places.”
“Casino Pier is excited about working with JRA in the rebuilding of the pier,” adds owner Vincent Storino. “Eventually Casino Pier is going to be bigger and better! Thats what we do on the Jersey Shore. We fight and we come back.”
